Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Weary, Dearie

Here it is: middle of August. The weather has been quite nice of late, so I can't complain too much about that. I still have the AC going most afternoons (OK: all afternoons), but this is the first August in a year of Augusts (as opposed to a month of Sundays?) that I can venture outdoors longer than an hour or two, unless I arise at 5:00 am. (That's what I was doing in the Lavender months of May, June, and July. Lavender is all planted now, so I am sleeping in: 6:00 am)

The other day I had chance to flip the calendar over to the month of September to check a date. And there it was: September 22 at 10:29 P.M. EDT.

Fall! Autumnal Equinox! That brightened my suntanned face (because, let me tell you, it does not matter one whit if, when you arise, you slather {and I have begun hating that term} your entire exposed body with sunscreen, the ultraviolet rays are going to find a way, ever-so-sneakily, to turn that baby-faced face into a well-worn catcher's mitt in no time, no time a' tall. I especially hate that I am red-necked this summer. Even with sunscreen, popped collars, long sleeves, gloves, and a wide-brimmed sun hat (think Scarlet O'Hara), I have still managed to acquire a tan thanks to the Summer of Lavender.

But back to September. Or even today: the public school systems began classes today. I missed seeing the rural school bus passing our house this morning at 7:17 am. This means either I missed the bus, or the two neighbor girls, aged 16 & 17, are driving to school on their own and the bus is no longer traveling down our road.

And too, that Autumnal Equinox date just gave me hope. Hope for even cooler days, and chilly - nay, COLD nights in the near future.